Reproductive Life History And Signal Evolution In A Multi-Species Assemblage Of Electric Fish, Joseph Waddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Animals that co-occur in sympatry with multiple closely-related species use reproductive mate attraction signals not only to assess the quality of a potential conspecific mate (sexual selection), but also to discriminate conspecifics from heterospecifics (species recognition). However, the extent to which sexual selection and species recognition may interact, or even conflict, is poorly known. Neotropical electric fish offer unrivaled opportunities for understanding this problem. They generate simple, stereotyped mate attraction signals that are easy to record and quantify, and that are well-understood from the neurobiological perspective. Additionally, they live in electrically-crowded environments, where multiple congeners live and reproduce in close …

The Role Of The Y-Chromosome In The Evolution Of Autosomally Coded Traits, Ian Kutch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent work indicates that the Y-chromosome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster can influence gene regulation on the autosomes and X chromosome. This newly discovered function of the Y has the potential to dramatically shape the regulatory evolution of numerous genes that reside throughout the genome; even for genes that code for both male and female traits. Given that the mechanism underlying the Y-linked influence on gene expression in D. melanogaster appears to exist in other independently evolved heterogametic sex chromosomes, the evolutionary implications of Y-linked regulatory variation (YRV) deserves to be explored. These implications include the potential for Y-chromosomes …

Improving Survey Methodology To Monitor Rare Grassland Birds In South Dakota, Kassondra Hendricks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data for grassland bird species has shown the most rapid population decline of any other bird group. Current roadside survey techniques, however, may fall short of providing accurate numbers of rare grassland bird species such as chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii), and Baird’s sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii). Trends resulting from roadside data for grassland birds are oftentimes determined to be statistically insignificant because many grassland bird species occur on too few routes, occur in low numbers per route, and show high annual fluctuations in number. It is possible roadside surveys …

Swift Foxes In Southwestern South Dakota: Assessing The Current Status Of A Reintroduced Population, Sarah Ann Nevison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Swift foxes (Vulpes velox) were reintroduced into Badlands National Park between 2003 and 2006 after being nearly extirpated from South Dakota in the early 1900’s. Genetic analysis provided strong evidence that the reintroduction was successful, but viability analysis indicated the population may be in jeopardy with a high probability of extinction. Recently, the population has declined due to various biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., recent weather patterns, effects of plague [Yersinia pestis], and increased coyote [Canis latrans] numbers). No information on the status of swift foxes has been collected since 2009. Between 2014 and 2016, the objectives of this study …

Antibiotics And Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In Coastal Plain Streams, Jason Duff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Streams across the United States and globally are influenced by environmental contamination, including antibiotics, which enter streams due to widespread use and multiple pathways into the environment. Antibiotics are also likely to enter streams in mixture with other contaminants that alter the effects on aquatic organisms. Furthermore, antibiotic-resistant bacteria enter streams through similar pathways as antibiotics with implications for natural microbial communities. Therefore, understanding the presence and effects of antibiotic-contaminant mixtures and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in streams is important for resource management.

Chapter one describes an experiment that tested the hypothesis that the antibiotic tetracycline (TC) alone influences phytoplankton communities differently …

Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser Brevirostrum) Spawning Potential In The Penobscot River, Maine: Considering Dam Removals And Emerging Threats, Catherine Johnston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dam removals from the Penobscot River in Maine restored access to freshwater habitat critical for the life cycle of endangered shortnose sturgeon. Prior to the dam removals, shortnose sturgeon spawning activity had not been documented. Instead, evidence suggested that individuals emigrated from the Penobscot River to spawn in the Kennebec complex, 140 km away. A central question of this thesis was whether spawning activity would commence in the first two years following dam removal. Consistent with pre-dam removal movement patterns determined using acoustic telemetry, the majority (78%) of tagged individuals emigrated from the Penobscot River at some point over the …

Exploring The Threats Of Dams And Ocean Conditions: In-River Movements And Ocean Growth Of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) From Maine's Rivers, Lisa K. Izzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Substantial declines of anadromous Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar have occurred throughout the range of the species, with many populations at the southern extent of the distribution being extirpated or endangered. While Maine is the last state in the country where adult Atlantic Salmon return to rivers each year to spawn, numbers have decreased dramatically in recent decades, with typically less than 2,000 spawners returning to all Maine's rivers combined. The complex life history of this species, which involves a juvenile freshwater phase followed by a marine phase that can last one to five years before returning to freshwater to spawn …

Assessment Of A Hatchery Based Rainbow Smelt Supplementation Effort, Andrew O'Malley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) are an important fish distributed throughout northeastern North America with both anadromous and landlocked populations. Abundance, size at age, and maximum size vary widely among populations and life histories. In order to compare anadromous and landlocked populations, we collected spawning adults in 2014 from four anadromous and three landlocked populations. Scales and otoliths from the anadromous fish were examined and compared for estimates of bias and precision in ageing. Analysis of both scales and otoliths provided age estimates that were acceptable, but estimates from scales were more precise and had less bias. Otoliths were …

An Investigation Of Hydrogeologic, Stratigraphic, And Structural Controls On Acer Grandidentatum Communities In A Karst Landscape, Owl Mountain Province, Fort Hood Military Installation, Texas, Melinda S. Faulkner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Owl Mountain Province is located within the Fort Hood Military Installation, an approximately 880 km2 installation established in the 1940s in Bell and Coryell counties, Texas, which has undergone extensive land use changes associated with military training, maintaining much of the vegetation in early succession. This study investigates thelithologic, stratigraphic, and structural controls on the hydrologic, hydrogeologic, and geomorphologic evolution of the Owl Mountain Province as expressed by mesic vegetation communities, including Pleistocene relicts Acer grandidentatum, within karst terrains. These systems exhibit complexly overprinted speleogenetic evolutions within a dynamic groundwater regime resulting from regional climate shifts throughout the …

Speleogenesis Of Critchfield Bat Caves And Associated Hydrogeology Of The Northern Edwards Aquifer, Williamson County, Texas, Ashley N. Landers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Karst development in the Edwards Aquifer has been significantly studied in the San Antonio and Barton Spring Segments; however, karst development remains poorly studied in the Northern Segment. Detailed characterization of the Northern Segment is vital for future water conservation because of increasing urban sprawl along the Interstate 35 corridor. The Northern Segment of the Edwards Aquifer consists of Lower Cretaceous strata of the Comanche Peak, Edwards, and Georgetown formations. The stratigraphy is dominated by Edwards Limestone as it is the only formation that crops out in the study area.

Karst, stratigraphic, GIS, and geochemical studies were conducted to evaluate …

Habitat Selection In Transformed Landscapes And The Role Of Novel Ecosystems For Native Species Persistence, Lina Maria Sanchez Clavijo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To understand native species persistence in transformed landscapes we must evaluate how individual behaviors interact with landscape structure through ecological processes such as habitat selection. Rapid, widespread landscape transformation may lead to a mismatch between habitat preference and quality, a phenomenon known as ecological traps that can have negative outcomes for populations. I applied this framework to the study of birds inhabiting landscapes dominated by forest remnants and shade coffee plantations, a tropical agroforestry system that retains important portions of native biodiversity. I used two different approaches to answer the question: What is the role of habitat selection in the …

Current Status Of Falcon Populations In Saudi Arabia, Albara M. Binothman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Falcons (Falco spp.) are widely used for falconry in the countries of the Middle East. During the 2015 breeding season, we surveyed historic and active nest sites of Barbary (Falco pelegrinoides pelegrinoides) and Lanner (F. biarmicus) Falcons in Saudi Arabia. Field and questionnaire surveys were conducted and personal contact with falconers was made to document the current distribution and price changes for Lanner Falcons, Barbary Falcons, Saker Falcons (F. cherrug), Peregrine Falcons (F. peregrinus), Gyrfalcons (F. rusticolus), and Hybrid Falcons in Saudi Arabia. We categorized our survey into three geographic groups; southwest (A), northwest (B), and central (C) regions of …

Use Of Photo-Identification And Mark-Recapture Techniques To Identify Characteristics Of The Stock Structure Of Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Off Northern South Carolina, Daniela C. Silva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) stock assessment reports describe two coastal and two estuarine bottlenose dolphin stocks that utilize the waters of northern South Carolina (Waring et al. 2014), but coastal data from this area are lacking. Photo-ID mark-recapture surveys were conducted from 2013-2015 along two 50 km coastal transects centered on Murrells Inlet, SC; and from 2014-2015 along two 50 km transects covering both coastal and estuarine waters centered on Little River, SC. Capture histories of marked individuals were used to estimate abundance and, in conjunction with neighboring catalog comparisons, infer movements, residency patterns, and stock membership. Local abundance …

Financial Investment Management For Forest Sustainability, Zarina Ismailova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is paper is discussion about main problems of forest management, whether financial investment has a substantial impact on the long term perspective of forest landscape restoration and, more specifically, what strategy and what financial options are available to make the forest projects more sustainable. A few relevant questions to ask are: who are the main actors in the implementation of FLR projects; which steps have to be taken; and, which financial options would more suitable and would be feasible to implement. There are three main parts of this research to be investigated:

1. forest issues along with their respective solutions, …

A Physiological Assessment Of Wetland Habitats For Spring-Migrating Ducks In The Agricultural Landscapes Of The Southern Prairie Pothole Region, Adam K. Janke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conversion of grassland and wetland ecosystems in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) has been a pervasive challenge for conservationists dating back to the early 1900s. The legacy of ever-increasing agricultural intensity in the southern portions of the PPR, including eastern South Dakota, has left many wetland ecosystems in a matrix of intensive agricultural production. With little surrounding nesting cover, these wetlands are thought to have limited potential for waterfowl reproduction but may still play an important role facilitating migration of waterfowl en route to northern breeding areas during spring. My research sought to understand the contributions of wetlands in …

Changes In Wetland Conditions And Wetland Plant Communities In The Prairie Pothole Region After 50 Years, Ryann Cressey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands in Stutsman County, North Dakota were revisited after 50 years to assess changes in wetland conditions and plant communities within wetland zones in the Prairie Pothole Region. In 1961-1966, Robert E. Stewart and Harold A. Kantrud conducted a study to investigate the relationship of wetland plant communities to variations of water permanence and chemistry on three study areas: Crystal Springs, Cottonwood, and Mt. Moriah. Within in this region, a severe drought occurred in 1988- 1992 followed by the longest deluge starting in 1993 with wetlands still impacted today. In 2013 and 2014, I revisited 80 of the original wetlands …

River Restoration: Institutions, Boundaries, And Social Ecological Dynamics, Eileen Sylvan Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This human dimensions research, consisting of three manuscripts, explores the social and ecological dimensions of river restoration through an examination of the restoration trajectories of the Androscoggin, an impaired system, and the Kennebec, a restored system. Manuscript one examines the influence of biophysical and community attributes and institutional rules on policy stakeholders goals and actions within the two watersheds. For manuscripts one and two, we conducted semi-structured interviews with key informants, assembled documents pertaining to restoration actions, and conducted participant observation at stakeholder meetings. We qualitatively analyzed transcripts and documents. Results suggest that policy stakeholders’ understandings of biophysical and community …

An Economic Analysis Of High-Intensity, Short-Duration Grazing Systems In South Dakota And Nebraska, Bronc Mcmurtry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Four different grazing systems: two rotational, a continuous, and a high-intensity, short-duration (mob) system, replicated twice, were evaluated from an economic perspective. Mob grazing is defined as a system having very high stocking rates for a small amount of time. Livestock are forced to eat or trample the vegetation. Stocking rates and average daily gains (ADG) were collected from the UNL Barta Brothers ranch near Rose, Nebraska. The study started in 2011 and lasted until 2014. Using the performance data and other cost data relevant to South Dakota and Nebraska, budgets were set up for each system and extrapolated to …

Population Ecology Of Rocky Mountain Elk In The Black Hills, South Dakota And Wyoming, Benjamin D. Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We conducted a 2-year (2012–2013) study of survival and cause–specific mortality using individually marked adult cow and neonate elk (Cervus elaphus) occupying the southwestern region of the Black Hills. We used known-fate analysis in Program MARK for survival analysis of adult cows and calves. We estimated survival and cause-specific mortality of 49 adult female elk over the 2 years of the study. Annual adult cow survival was 0.85 (95% CI = 0.72–0.87). We documented 12 mortalities with harvest (58.3%) and predation (16.6%) accounting for the majority of known mortalities. We captured and fit 71 neonates < 10 days of age with expandable Very High Frequency (VHF) radiocollars during summer 2012 (n = 37) and 2013 (n = 34). Annual (12 month) survival of elk calves was 0.75 (95% CI = 0.61–0.84) while summer (20 weeks; 15 May–25 September) survival was 0.79 (95% CI = 0.68–0.88). Predation accounted for 87.5% of mortalities; remaining mortalities were from starvation (6.3%) and unknown (6. 3%) causes. We used Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to collect 167,707 locations to determine home range, movement ecology, and macroscale resource selection of 48 adult cow elk. We documented elk using a variety of migration strategies (obligate migrator, resident, conditional migrator, disperser); the majority of the population (58%) was migratory. Spring migration distance travelled ranged from 2.45 km – 74.44 km (n = 42); fall migration distances ranged from 6.41km – 153.95 km (n = 46). We used 99% Brownian Bridge Movement Models to create seasonal and overall home ranges of adult cow elk. Mean overall home range size for conditional migrators was 249.28 km2 (SE = 28.60, n = 7, range = 233.75), for obligate migrant elk it was 227.18 km2 (SE = 13.94, n = 29, range = 346.83), and for resident elk it was 175.65 km2 (SE = 22.75, n = 11, range = 216.04). We used discrete choice models to determine resource selection at the macro-habitat scale of collared adult elk using ArcMap 10.1 data. Adult cow elk selected for open grassland/herbaceous areas and early successional forest areas close to forested edges at higher elevations. Our study showed that elk populations have the ability to thrive within an ecosystem with healthy predator populations.

Phenology And Effects Of Dams On The Success Of Atlantic Salmon Smolt Migrations In The Penobscot River, Maine, Daniel S. Stich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar populations are diminished throughout their range and high marine mortality is among the drivers of the failure of many stocks to recover. A goal of salmon recovery is to maximize the number of juvenile ‘smolts’ entering the ocean to offset loss therein. Dam removals and changes to hydropower allocation in Maine’s largest river, the Penobscot River, have occurred as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project (PRRP). These activities, in addition to stocking have the potential to influence the number of smolts reaching the ocean. Telemetry was used to investigate factors influencing initiation of migratory behavior, …

Late Pleistocene And Holocene Bison Of Grand Canyon And Colorado Plateau: Implications From The Use Of Paleobiology For Natural Resource Management Policy, Jeffrey M. Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bison spp. (bison) fossils are scarce on the Colorado Plateau, especially within the greater Grand Canyon region. Because of the poor fossil record for bison on the plateau and in Grand Canyon National Park, various resource managers have surreptitiously designated bison a nonnative and human-introduced species. The lack of evidence for bison seems to be the result of collection bias rather than a true lack of bison remains. Today, Grand Canyon National Park has a neighboring herd of 350 bison that have meandered unwantedly onto National Park lands from neighboring Forest Service and State of Arizona lands. This study spatiotemporally …

The Development And Application Of A Larval Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Albus) Bioenergetics Model, Laura B. Heironimus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus are native fish of the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins and currently listed as an endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. As a result of anthropogenic alterations within the Missouri River, including dredging, channelization, and construction of large reservoirs, Pallid Sturgeon reproduction is reduced or eliminated throughout the species range. Due to a lack of wild progeny, little is known of the larval Pallid Sturgeon and their habitat or environmental requirements. To increase knowledge on the larval Pallid Sturgeon’s physiological requirements for growth and survival, the objective of this study was to develop …

Determining Impacts Of Mountain Lions On Bighorn Sheep And Other Prey Sources In The Black Hills, Joshua B. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From 2009 to 2013, we assessed cougar (Puma concolor) feeding habits and bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) population dynamics in the Black Hills, South Dakota. We used Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry to locate 1,506 cougar feeding events and found deer (Odocoileus spp.; 83%), primarily white-tailed deer (O. virginianus), dominated cougar diets. Overall ungulate kill rate averaged 0.79 ungulates/week (range = 0.13–1.75 ungulates/week), and was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in summer (xˉ = 0.92; SE = 0.06) than in winter (xˉ = 0.62; SE = 0.06). In contrast, biomass consumed was significantly higher (P = 0.033) in winter (xˉ = 8.23 kg/day; SE = 0.96) than in summer (xˉ = 5.45 kg/day; SE = 0.43), primarily as a result of increased scavenging (winter = 0.21 events/week; summer = 0.08 events/week), which represents the highest documented rate for cougar populations studied. We also documented a relatively high rate of chronic wasting disease- (CWD) infected elk in 2 cougar (1 male; 1 female) diets (64%; 95% CI = 50.3–78.3%) and speculate that CWD infection likely increased elk predation risk. Annual lamb survival was 0.02 (SE = 0.01) with pneumonia (36%) and predation (30%) the leading causes of mortality. We found pneumonia and predation were temporally heterogeneous with lambs most susceptible to predation during the first 2–3 weeks of life, while the greatest risk from pneumonia occurred from weeks 4–8. Annual ewe survival was 0.81 (SE = 0.04) with pneumonia (19%) and predation (19%) the leading causes of documented mortality; 48% were unknown. Additionally, we used vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) to assess capture efficiency and document parturition and neonate lamb bed site selection for bighorn sheep. We found successful VITs increased capture efficiency (95%) over unsuccessfully-vitted ewes (81%) and ewes not equipped with VITs (70%). Bighorn ewes selected for rugged terrain at both macro- and microhabitat scales, while at the macrohabitat scale ewes selected for areas that were close to perennial streams on south and west facing slopes and against anthropogenic disturbance. At the microhabitat scale, neonate lambs tended to select for greater cover and against north facing slopes.

Evaluating The Use Of Autonomous Recording Units To Monitor Yellow Rails, Nelson's Sparrows, And Le Conte's Sparrows, Anna Marie Sidie-Slettedahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Population status and habitat use of yellow rails (Coturnicops noveboracensis) (YERA), Nelson’s sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni) (NESP), and Le Conte’s sparrows (Ammodramus leconteii) (LCSP) are poorly known, so systematic surveys of these elusive species are needed to inform conservation planning and guide management. A standardized protocol for monitoring secretive marsh birds exists (Conway 2009, 2011); however, these species call at night and may be missed during early-morning marsh bird surveys. I tested the effectiveness of autonomous recording units (ARUs) to survey these species by analyzing recorded vocalizations using bioacoustics software. I deployed 22 ARUs at 54 sites in northern Minnesota and …

Ecology Of Glacial Relict Fishes In South Dakota's Sandhills Region, Eli Felts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Native stream fish zoogeography has changed substantially across North America during the last century as habitat degradation, stream fragmentation and introductions of nonnative species have led to numerous extinctions, extirpations and altered distributions. Insufficient information regarding imperiled species often results in reactive, rather than proactive, management, and knowledge of species status and ecology is critical in identifying conservation priorities. South Dakota populations of three dace species (northern redbelly dace Chrosomus eos, finescale dace Chrosomus neogaeus, and pearl dace Margariscus margarita) are relict of Pleistocene Glaciation and are isolated from the northern core of their distribution, but little information exists regarding …

Movements, Survival, And Sightability Of White-Tailed Deer In Southeastern South Dakota, Trenton J. Haffley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To effectively manage white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations, managers need to identify population parameters including but not limited to movements, survival and cause-specific mortality. It also is helpful to examine population size and density. The primary objectives of my study were to document seasonal migration, estimate survival rates for female adult white-tailed deer, and generate a sightability model for deer in southeastern South Dakota. Secondary objectives were to calculate seasonal home ranges and document cause-specific mortality. Forty four adult female white-tailed deer were monitored from February 2009 to January 2011 in Bon Homme and Yankton counties. I documented 38 seasonal …

Turtle Cam: Live Multimedia Interaction For Engaging Potential Visitor Population To Canaveral National Seashore, Brian Alfred Tortorelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project expands the outreach of the Canaveral National Seashore to its visitors, potential visitors, and virtual visitors through its goals in conservancy and preservation of its natural resources. This paper is involved with the current iteration of a series of digital media projects, the Sea Turtle Nest Camera, also known as, Turtle Cam. It details how and why this project was designed to be an ongoing initiative to assist in those goals.

Stochastic Models For Evolutionary Genetic Problems, Wei Liao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two stochastic models are designed for answering evolutionary genetic problems. The first study shows that inbreeding-environment interactions increase extinction risk. The second research demonstrates that 1) the carrying capacity and initial population growth rate is critical to determine the population persistence time; 2) increasing the advantageous mutation rate reduces the extinction risk although its effects are usually shadoby population size and fitness; 3) the new mutation correlation among environments rises during the evolution process, but it has compromised effects on population fate. Being able to accurately estimate the persistence time of populations of endangered plants and animals is central to …

Association Of Ring-Necked Pheasants And Conservation Reserve Program-Grasslands During The Brood-Rearing Season In Eastern South Dakota, Joshua J. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grassland established through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has provided critical habitat for many wildlife species. Recent declines in CRP-grassland acreage attributed to changes in federal enrollment policy, increased biofuels production, and commodity prices may have negative consequences on wildlife populations. Conservation Reserve Program habitats have increased availability of quality nesting and over-winter cover for pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in regions where large-scale conversions of native grasslands to cropland have occurred. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of CRP-grasslands on pheasants across a large geographic region. Primary objectives of the study were to determine presence/absence of pheasants …

Productivity And Trophic Interactions In The Missouri River Impoundments, Mark J. Fincel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Standardized monitoring is a vital component of fisheries assessment in Missouri River impoundments. In South Dakota, annual variation in fish growth and abundance is used to monitor changes in fish populations and develop strategies (i.e. regulations) for managing recreational fishes. Although variation in fish abundance provides important insight into the status of fish populations, it can be difficult to link these changes to environmental conditions (i.e. hydrology) without concurrent information about reservoir productivity. Measures of nutrient concentration, algal biomass, and zooplankton composition/abundance provide important insights into reservoir productivity, but standardized approaches for collecting these measures have not been developed for …